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Learn about the work of African American scientists Thursday – Sunday from 1 – 3 p.m. during the month of February at our Explainer Station on the lower level.

Activities may include:

Heart Dissections – Daniel Hale Williams is known as the first person to perform an open heart surgery. Learn more about how the heart works with sheep and cow heart dissections at the Explainer Station.

Capillary Action – On January 7, 1890, W.B. Purvis received a patent for the fountain pen. Learn how he eliminated the use of an ink bottle using capillary action at the Explainer Station.

Binary Communication – Ever since 1999’s The Matrix, the visualization of 1s and 0s has been short hand for computer communication. Philip Emeagwali used the basics of binary and programming to develop several microprocessors able to talk to each other at the same time. Learn to communicate in binary at the Explainer Station.

Sound and Vibrations – In 1885, Granville Woods patented a combination of the telephone and the telegraph. The device, which he called “telegraphony,” allowed telegraphs stations to transmit voice and telegraph messages over a single wire. Learn how sound vibrations are transmitted through different media at the Explainer Station.

Cockroaches – Charles Henry Turner was the first person to prove that insects can hear and can distinguish pitch, that cockroaches can learn by trial and error, and that honeybees can see color. Come learn more about our pet Madagascar hissing cockroaches at the Explainer Station.

Space – Mae Jemison is an American astronaut and physician who became the first African-American woman to be admitted into NASA’s astronaut training program and was the first African-American woman in space. Explore the Space Gallery to learn more about space exploration.

Space – Katherine Johnson is an African-American mathematician who made contributions to the United States’ aeronautics and space programs with the early application of digital electronic computers at NASA. Explore the Space Gallery to learn more about space exploration.